The latest cooking trends

I got a Ninja Foodi for Christmas! What is that, you ask? Its one of those pressure cooker, multi-cooker thingamabobs, like an Instant Pot, except mine comes with an air fryer. Whoop-di-do! Fancy-schmancy.

So let me tell you about this machine. I have a friend who swears by hers, and where she lives, it is a lifesaver. For me, it's one more piece of equipment to accommodate. I did look into getting one on my own and decided I probably didn't need one. Besides, my husband is a little picky about meals (although he'll tell you differently). I get adventurous when I cook, trying new recipes, especially since I've adopted a healthier way of eating in the past year. (His comment: "Can't we eat normal again?") Individually, my new adventures have been things he's accustomed to eating, things he actually likes, but prepared differently. Zucchini noodles? Sacrilege! It doesn't taste the same. Cauliflower rice? Can't we just have regular rice? Or regular cauliflower?

But I digress.

Dear Husband is the one who bought me the Foodi. So now he has to suffer through new recipes along with me! So far, almost everything I've made has been wonderful! Some, not perfect, but I haven't ruined anything yet. "The machine" is intimidating, even after using it several times, but at least I know how to use it now. It's a handy tool, a new toy, but the shine is wearing off after two weeks. I have more "I want to try this!" recipes, and then it will likely get relegated to the back corner until I have a reason to take it out again. After all, there are only so many times I can hear "that's not how you're supposed to cook that" before I just don't cook it at all (or at least not for someone else!). In all fairness, I'm a picky eater, so my adventurous cooking is limited to what I'll eat, too.

Have any recipes you'd care to share? I'm saving those I've tried (or want to try) on my Pinterest Page. Leave me a comment or share your recipes with me there!

It's Complicated

True confessions. While I was writing THE GARDEN, I asked my resources how the inheritance part of the story would play out. Because I was basing the story on several tourist places I'd visited, in my head, I was creating a big, elaborate trust document detailing every piece of the property . And then multiple trust documents for each piece (because, of course, I was basing my vision on three different locations "in real life"). And then leases and rent-back agreements. Then I sat down with the trust guy and confused the heck out of him. Thank you, Jeff, for listening to me, hearing me out, and then trying to accommodate my vision. Ultimately, as he corrected some of my misconceptions and confusion, what he actually did was show me how convoluted my ideas had become. No, he didn't say that, and kudos to him for trying to meet the vision I'd created. When I walked back to my desk, out of his office, I shook my head, sifting through all the information he'd given me, and realized I didn't need all the fuss and bother. One estate. One trust document.

Holy cow. Why was I making it so complex? And this is why it helps to talk through things with the pros. Not only can they simplify for you, they can give you ideas you hadn't thought of.

Fast forward. The devil is always in the details, doncha know? I'm working on my new project and ironing out occupations and projects, etc. I wanted to incorporate one of my protags hidden talents into her job and started down the rabbit hole once again. I don't need to incorporate her hidden talents. It will be more fun if it comes out during the discovery phase. But that's me. I've always done things the hard way. Sort of like untangling Christmas lights. Once you're done, everything shines nice and neat.

Here's hoping I've untangled my current lights into something shiny and pretty! In the meantime, I hope you like what I've already straightened out! THE GARDEN is available in paperback, and coming soon in ebook.

Buy it here

Til the Season Comes Round Again

Sending Happy New Year wishes to all my readers. May 2019 bring you unexpected joy, unexpected because that enhances the flavor.

A new year is always a time to reflect and evaluate. This year, I'm extending the Christmas season, holding onto that holiday feeling, as I work on my next writing project. With the end of the EPITAPH series, I've been considering expanding my brand and exploring new paths.

Thank you to everyone who has walked this journey with me and supported my passion. I hope you’ll enjoy this new direction!

Cozy up between the holidays

I’m excited. The paperback version of the new book is LIVE! At least at Amazon. Barnes & Noble seems to be taking a little longer over the holidays. With the winter weather, I like to curl in my favorite chair and read. This one will take you to warmer weather, intrigue and, or course, finding that special someone.

Amazon | BN

Wishing you all Happy Holidays! Thanks for walking this journey with me!

Want to see the new cover?

The final installment of the EPITAPH series will be hitting the stores in January. I have to say I love the new cover! The background in the front cover photo was taken at an Arboretum, a hedge maze that helped to inspire the story, and the photo on the back cover was taken at another public garden, a scenic grove. But enough gushing about the cover. Let me tell you about the book!

You can buy it HERE

In this final installment, we get to meet the last of the Benson brothers, and if you follow my blog, you know I struggled to write his story, but the more difficult characters are often the most interesting to write. I have to get to know them better than the "easy" characters.

Here's a sneak peek:

All the books stand alone, but if you want to get caught up, check out the rest of the books in the series (did I mention the first in the series is FREE?)

  A | BN | iB | K   

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Our furry companions

If you follow my blog, you know I'm a cat lover, and you've read the stories about my entertaining cats. Life, as they say, moves on.

This month I had to say goodbye to my blonde assistant. For a dumpster rescue, I never expected she would live to ten years, much less to almost 20. She was 19 this past September, and full of life, if a step slower. She grew hard of hearing (there are very few cats you can actually sneak up on), and she had her off days as she became a "grandma cat." My heart is broken every time I look at the empty corner in my office, or touch her favorite blanket that became her "nest," her favorite place to sit in the whole house. She was a beautiful cat and very much a part of our family. She always welcomed the kids back home, and even the grandkids when most cats would hide from small children.

If you've ever wondered if you should adopt a pet, I'm here to tell you it is a rewarding experience, much like having children. There are the training issues, the messy times, but when you are still and they love you, there's no other feeling like it.

As she crosses the rainbow bridge to join the pets who have gone before her, I thank her for 19 years of love and companionship.

Snester (say what??)

While I was proof reading my latest work, I stumbled upon this word: snester. WHAT??

I seldom miss typographical errors while I'm writing thanks to the technology that points out errors immediately. Even after I've finished, I generally don't find more than three or four typos in the entire manuscript (not misuses, typos). So when I was reading and ran into this word, I was dumbfounded. What the heck was that word supposed to be? The obvious answer came to me after only a few short minutes.

It brought to mind a published book I read that had a similarly odd word. I spent way too much time looking for the post I wrote about that word, but it didn't take long to figure out that the author in that instance had replaced the word tuna in her manuscript. Instead of searching for the whole word tuna, she did a global replace, which inserted the substitute into the word for-tuna-tely, which turned it into something else entirely (which word escapes me at the moment). One would hope these types of things would jump out BEFORE publication.

paper wasp nest

Which brings me back to snester. I'd written about bees and wasps and hives, and one of my critique partners pointed out that wasps build nests, not hives. He was right, of course, so I did a search and replace for hive and replaced it with nest. And I forgot to enable "search for whole word only." The mystery word? S-hive-r. The plus side to my boo-boo was that I discovered that I'd overused the word shiver!

Aside from giving me a good laugh while I was proofreading, goofy made-up words are a good reminder to be careful when you do a search and replace! Check that little box that says "search for whole word only" or watch for "match case" in those instance where capitalization applies, as well.